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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Stream of Consciousness - Talking Mules and Fried Chicken

I may be adapting the term to mean what I want it to mean right now, but generally, it's thought of as "free association" or a disjointed form of interior monologue.

So I'm gonna use it now.  Bringing the interior to the exterior and putting it out there for all the world to see. Well, not really - only the people who read this blog which is about 4 people. =) And they already know I'm nutty, so I'm not really giving anything away.

I'm sure James Joyce, Dorothy Richardson and Virginia Woolf will turn over in their respective graves.

Not sure how well I'll be able to disregard punctuation and other general rules of grammar, though.  I had some pretty darned good English teachers in my day.  So it will probably end up some mutated hybrid of no punctuation/intermittent punctuation that looks way worse than if I were just able to disregard everything I've learned.  Much like my accents when travelling abroad. I find myself mixing a total hick accent from living in Texas for so long with a perfectly British word here and there - just enough to make them think I'm making fun of them. Same in Scotland. Just sad, really. Even on this blog, since I'm not smart enough to know where to go or which settings to change if I got there, it does this weird spacing thing because I was taught to space twice after a period instead of just once, which makes some of my paragraphs do weird things.

So as I'm going to sleep, I'm thinking all sorts of things that segue into other seemingly unrelated things and wondering if everyone does that. I do it in the bathtub, too...just soaking away the day, letting my mind go where it will. Some of the associations and connections I make, even in real life, awake, are so odd that only my best friend since Kindergarten can follow.  She lovingly, I hope, refers to is as Sheila Logic. For instance coffee.  Did you ever wonder who was the first person who thought of coffee?  I mean really, someone was just walking along one day and ran across these beans and said to his friend, "Hey, if I roast these beans and grind them up and pour hot water through them, will you test out what comes out the other end?"  And did the guy just agree to drink that brown stuff because he was slow? Or stupid? Or did the first guy offer him money?  Seriously, what kind of brain does it take to come up with that? Yuck!  But now I'd probably be homicidal without it. So whoever that dude was, THANKS!

My man will say something like "foxy" totally making fun of the 70s and I immediately think of a dog I knew once with that name, which takes me down an entirely new rabbit hole. Of course that leads to Alice in Wonderland and food poisoning. Because one time when I was really sick with food poisoning, I was hallucinating about the huge playing cards and the evil queen, even though I haven't ever really read the whole story or seen the movie. Which leads to Daniel Negreanu because DUH! playing cards and poker and Doyle Brunson and all this goes through my head in a few seconds so right after he says foxy I ask a question about whether Gabe Kaplan, who used to host High Stakes Poker, but doesn't anymore even though he was WAY better than that weird Norm guy, and John Travolta are still friends all these years after the Sweathogs and he looks at me funny even though I could totally just say the 70s make me think of Stayin' Alive and who was in that?  Yep. Isn't the mind a wonderful thing? So in order for people not to think I am crazy immediately, I keep most of that weird crap inside, but I do seriously wonder if I am the only one.

Like the other day, someone brought up olives because I didn't know what tapenade was and we were trying to think what the stones inside were called and someone said pits and I thought of Zazu Pitts, an old character actress who happened to be in one of the Francis the Talking Mule movies making baskets in a nut house (how appropriate) and it was all I could do not to blurt out "Donald O'Connor!" Thankfully, I didn't.  People find out eventually, no need to throw it in their faces early on.

I wonder how far other people carry the whole stream of consciousness thing. Do they walk around all the time with their brains running willy nilly all over the place too? Seriously, as irritating as it can be sometimes, I still think I'm better off than all those people running around with cricket sounds in their heads.  Or worse, words like "like" - I mean like how many times can like a person like say like "like" in one, you know, like sentence? And I firmly believe there are actually a huge number of people with the sound of chirping crickets. There can be no other possible explanation for how some people seem to walk around oblivious to anyone else in the world. It's like they don't think or have any self-awareness at all. For instance, the moron who drives up to the drive-through mail box and proceeds to address and stamp their envelope.  Um, hello! It should be ready so you can drop and drive. Or the time I went to the Church's drive-thru. That was one for the books from beginning to end. I FINALLY get to the speaker after waiting over 10 minutes because the person working drive-thru doesn't understand the whole concept of fast food or drive-thrus. He would take one order, prepare it, collect the money, give them their food and then he would take the next order. Defeats the whole purpose!  So I order my chicken and I swear this is verbatim, he said "Oh, you want chicken?  Well we'll have to COOK that." Much like throwing good money after bad, I decide I am hungry and tired enough to throw good time after bad and bite the bullet and agree to wait. I've been watching the car in front of me and they've already paid and gotten their food but they're still at the window. I assume that they're checking their order, which isn't a bad idea, especially at this particular establishment. Finally they pull up a half a car length and stop in front of the trash can.  I still can't get to the window, but they're having to cook my food, so I am not immediately alarmed.  Until I notice that they aren't checking their order, they're actually eating their dinner right there!! In the drive-thru lane. All three of them.  Not even one person out of three has enough sense to say "hey dude, we're in the drive-thru lane, pull out of the way?" Nope.  Not one. But it really was okay.  They finished their dinner, threw their boxes in the trash can and finally drove off and I still didn't have my food. These are the same people who stop at the bottom of the escalators to chat, oblivious that I have no place to step off except square in the middle of them. Or the people who leave their shopping baskets in the middle of the aisle or worse, directly behind your car after they've unloaded their groceries. The same people exit right from the freeway - from the far left lane without even looking. Or pull out right in front of you even though there isn't another car behind you for miles. Or park in two spaces. Or drive in two lanes. Or get right beside another car and go the exact same speed so no one can pass. Or start digging in the back seat for something right before the red light turns to green and make you miss the light. Or start walking in one direction while looking in the opposite direction,  talking to someone. Or stand right in front of the coffee dispenser and doctor up their coffee with crap for 5 minutes, holding up the whole line. Are these people just asses or do they actually NOT have 2 brain cells to rub together?

Either way, I guess I'll take the random stream of useless, insignificant crap skipping merrily through my brain 24/7 to being a moron any day.

Matching Polish and Purses!

Someone smarter than I am had this idea.  But it was a good one, so I'm stealing it!

I don't intentionally match my polish to my bags, but when it happens, it happens, so I've snapped some shots of a few...

Not a great photo, but this was my Raisin Lindy and OPI Can You Dig It - it actually matched my Violet Carmen keyring perfectly (top of pic.)

Raisin Lindy, Violet Carmen with OPI Can You Dig It
Tod's Ivy with Sally Hansen Commander in Chic
Black Chevre Birkin with Pure Ice Silver Mercedes and OPI Black Shatter on top
Crappy cell phone pics - my apologies. ^^

Goyard St. Louis GM with Pure Ice Iced Merlot layered over  NYC Black Lace Creme
Gucci (guccisima leather in unknown color) with Pure Ice Jamaica Me Crazy over LA Colors #563 (Nuclear Energy)
Chartreuse Evelyne with Wet n Wild Ocean Grotto over Revlon Moss

Vert Anis Karo with Wet n Wild Ocean Grotto over Revlon Moss


Orange Tods with Perfect 10 Crush
That's all I have for now. If I stumble across any more, I'll post 'em.

What are some of your favorite purse/polish matches?

Monday, August 29, 2011

Ultimate Mushroom/Taupe Nail Polish Comparison Guide...8 Different Polishes!

Since any kind of mushroomy taupe color is my go-to color when traveling because it doesn't clash with anything, naturally I'm drawn to them and have more than I should. I started wondering how many are dupes. So I pulled most of them out (most that were similar in the bottle anyway. I have more that are clearly lighter and clearly darker I didn't use here) to do a comparison.

Here's what I used:

1. Chanel Particuliere
2. Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro Steel Grey
3. NYC In a Minute Park Avenue
4. Orchid Ain't No Sunshine
5. Hard Candy Mushroom
6. OPI You Don't Know Jacques
7. China Glaze Below Deck
8. Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Commander in Chic


These are all cremes - no shimmers or sparkles in any of them.


Mushroom/Taupe Comparison

Mushroom/Taupe Comparison


As you will see in the photos, there are two of these that really aren't dupes for any of the rest.  Chanel Particuliere doesn't have the grey/purple undertones the rest of them have and China Glaze Below Deck has much more of a purple undertone than any of the others.

The definite true dupe for me out of all of these is Hard Candy Mushroom for OPI You Don't Know Jacques. You really can't tell the difference in appearance!  The difference I did note in the application was that the Hard Candy one is a little more pigmented, allowing you to get away with 2 light coats as opposed to the OPI, which needs three light coats or two heavier coats.  Since I was doing a quick comparison before I did my actual manicure, I haven't done clean up for the photos.

Hard Candy Mushroom and OPI You Don't Know Jacques

That leaves four.  These four are, for all intents and purposes, dupes.  Maybe not as perfect as the Hard Candy/OPI comparison, but for anyone without OCD, dupes, nevertheless.

These are Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro Steel Grey, NYC In a Minute Park Avenue, Orchid Ain't No Sunshine and Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Commander in Chic. Of all of these, I'd say the Orchid was ever so slightly darker and needed one less coat than the others, AND was actually the easiest to apply. The problem with this, however, may be availability. While they are available for between $4.99 and $6.99 at my local H.E.B. Plus grocery store, I'm not sure they're available elsewhere. And I don't know how far outside Texas H.E.B. goes, if at all.  I hope that changes soon because they have a WIDE range of colors and finishes and very nice application.  Their brush is a mid-sized, semi-flat brush.  It's not the skinny, round brush of the NYC brand, but it's not as wide as the Sally Hansen or the Rimmel. It fits my nails perfectly. I think it might have just usurped my number one go-to polish, which was Rimmel Steel Grey. And it's 3-Free!

Mushroom/Taupe Comparison
And just for kicks, here are China Glaze Below Deck and Chanel Particuliere comparisons, too.

China Glaze Below Deck
Not sure how well you can tell in the photos, but the China Glaze Below Deck has more purple undertones than the others and the Chanel Particuliere has less of a purple or grey undertone than the others and is just a soft, less grey, less purple, very rich brown.

Chanel Particuliere

I've decided to wear Orchid's Ain't No Sunshine this week to test the wearability, chipping, tip wear, etc. I'll let you know how it fares!

Final color choice:  Orchid Ain't No Sunshine
Update: The Orchid polish wore pretty well. I had the normal tip wear because I type all day, but this mani lasted 6 days and was still going strong when I took it off. No chipping. My nails grow really fast and I get tired of the same color day after day, though, so 6 days for me with the same polish has to be some kind of record!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Holo-mania Comes to an End

I still have a LOT more, but this will be the end of holo week for now.  It's Black and Blue week on "the forum."  =)  I'll be stepping WAY out of my comfort zone and trying blacks and blues over the next few days.

So here's my last holo entry for the week:  Nfu-Oh #61.  It's their silver holo and it's just fantastic!  Strong linear holo, which you guys know is my favorite. The silver base is blingy enough on its own, but add the prismatic rainbow and I'm in holo heaven.  I can't do this polish justice with my photos, so after you look at mine, take a look at Kitties26's photos on her blog More Nail Polish. She does a great job at capturing it perfectly. Must be that Aussie sunshine!

I've blurred some of them so you can see the rainbow.

Nfu-Oh 61

Nfu-Oh 61

Nfu-Oh 61
Nfu-Oh 61
Of course then I had to compare OPI DS Sapphire that I just got the other day. Nfu-Oh beats it, hands down. It's definitely a holo and it does actually lean more toward a linear than a scattered, but it doesn't even compare to Nfu-Oh, as you can see.  Of course OPI DS Sapphire is "blue" rather than silver, but it's not a dark blue.

Nfu-Oh 61 on index and middle and OPI DS Sapphire on ring and pinky

Nfu-Oh 61 on index and middle and OPI DS Sapphire on ring and pinky

You can see (well you probably can't from these pics, but take my word for it)  that OPI DS Sapphire is a holo for sure, but up next to a strong linear, it's washed out.

The only issue I had with the Nfu-Oh is that it was thicker and gloppier than the other Nfu-Oh holos I have.  Not sure if it's a bad bottle or if the silver is just like that. I used Nfu-Oh's Aqua base with it and it wasn't problematic enough to deter me.  It's SO worth it.

Now, how am I going to do black? *facepalm*

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Nubar Reclaim

This one is from Nubar's 2009 Going Green Collection and its formula is FLAWLESS.  It's a strong, smooth linear holographic polish.  AND IT'S GREEN!!!  (As you can tell I'm a little behind, but there's no stopping me NOW!)

Reclaim, where have you been all my life?

Nubar Reclaim

Nubar Reclaim

This is what it looks like when the rainbow holo awesomeness isn't dancing across them - a great color even without the holo, no?

Nubar Reclaim 
And finally the gratuitous close-up shot...

Nubar Reclaim
Yeah, I might need a back-up bottle of this baby.

Color Club Revvvolution

Continuing with the holo theme, today's polish is Color Club Revvvolution.

This is a very deceptive polish - and a definite stunner!  It's a charcoal grey with a great holo - it's not a true linear holo, but it's a lot better than a scattered.  This was from the Spring 2009 Femme Fatale Collection. It's still very popular and it's easy to see why!  It's classified as a "black holo" but if you're one of those people who still hasn't embraced the black polish look (or your man is a black polish hater) you're safe with this one. It reads charcoal gray when the light isn't bouncing off the rainbow within.

The application was a dream and it's a true one-coater, though if you wanted to add more coats, it's not too gloppy for it.  Perfection in a bottle. Obviously my photography skills, or glaring lack thereof, don't do it justice.

Color Club Revvvolution
Color Club Revvvolution
Color Club Revvvolution Close-Up
Now tell me that's not a FAB polish!

Big Girl Panties

Don't you just hate being around a negative person all the time? Seriously, they tend to suck the life out of everything. I've found that the older I get, the less tolerance I have for it and as a result, there are fewer people with whom I choose to spend my time.

It's not easy. I mean you WANT to be a good friend and if someone's just going through a rough time, you want to stick by them and help them through it. If it's someone who's been in your life for a long time, you generally know whether that's just their basic personality or if it's just a rough patch.  But what if you're not sure?

I'm one of those people who want the kind of friendships that are honest. I want someone to tell me if I have spinach in my teeth. (For those of you who know me personally, you understand that's just an expression.  Like I would have actual spinach in my teeth - LOL!  Not bloody likely.)  Or toilet paper hanging out of the back of my dress -which IS entirely possible. And I am that same kind of friend. If you can't handle me telling you the truth about things, then I'm not for you. Will I do it in a loving way? Absolutely. I've got a LOT of faults, but I always try to be kind and loving, even if the message might hurt a little.

So there's this one person in my life right now who's driving me nuts.  She's a great person and I know her to be a generally positive, upbeat person. Almost a Pollyanna sometimes, which can also be irritating, don't think it can't. She has her faults, but don't we all? I've known her longer than I've known anyone else and she's been through some really rough times. She's lost nearly everyone in her life and yet she's always tried to stay positive.

But lately...

Lately, she just seems to be negative all the time. She doesn't feel well. When stuff hurts, I guess it can be harder to cope. Pain does things to people. She seems to have a headache constantly. It's always something. Her shoulder hurts. Her head hurts. Her knee hurts. It's too hot. She isn't sleeping well. She's tired all the time. Her sleep schedule is completely backwards. Her neck hurts, which causes another headache. She has fibromyalgia. She's irritable. She isn't exercising at all because it's "too hot." And the less she does, the worse she feels.

I think she doesn't even realize how bad things have gotten. So does a real friend tell her? Is a little tough love in order? "Get out and exercise a little, for crying out loud! You'll never feel any better if you don't DO something and get that blood circulating!" Or does a real friend just keep her mouth shut and sympathize and hope things get better on their own?

I know her really well and I KNOW she hates negativity as much as I do. She generally just deals with things. Handles them and moves on. There will be the occasional, usually brief, pity party - crying and screaming and gnashing of teeth - then she sucks it up and moves on.

So I did it. I told her. And she wasn't happy to hear it. In fact, it made her cry. Her feelings were really hurt. I dug out those Big Girl Panties from the back of the closet and tossed them in her face. She's probably one of the more stubborn people on the planet, so subtlety wasn't really an option.

Did I do the right thing? I think so, because when I put that mirror down and quit talking to myself, I did feel a lot better.

Sometimes you just have to give yourself a good talking to. I didn't really like what I had to tell myself, but I needed to hear it.

I still feel like crap. And I still have a headache. But the way I've been lately, I didn't even want to be around myself. How could I expect that anyone else would want to be around me?

These Big Girl Panties are chapping my behind a little, but if I don't wear them, I'll never get used to them.

Friday, August 19, 2011

A Week of Mixed Up Manis

I've mentioned before that I have NPADD (Nail Polish Attention Deficit Disorder) - this week has been proof positive.  I flip-flopped all over the place.

But I have so many untrieds!  I can't really justify buying MORE polish until I get the untrieds down to at least 50% of my stash.  Well, I could.  But I'm trying to be better.

First up, ORANGE!

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Sun Kissed
Sally Hansen always has a great formula and it went on great - two coats with Seche Vite Topcoat.

Then things heated up more and I went to RED!

China Glaze Salsa

China Glaze Salsa
That wasn't quite RED enough, so I changed to a darker blue-red.

China Glaze China Rouge
China Glaze is one of my top 3 favorite nail polish formulas, so naturally, they both applied perfectly.  Both have 2 coats and a Seche Vite Topcoat.

And to cool off, I switched to blue.

Orchid Royal Engagement
Orchid is a new-to-me brand I found at my local grocery store, H.E.B. Plus.  H.E.B. is a grocery store chain in Texas, the Plus being their version of a super store. Best I can tell, it might be a brand only distributed to H.E.B. - looks like it's manufactured in San Antonio.  They have literally 100s of colors in their line, which isn't what you'd expect from a grocery store brand, so I am hoping to find out more about it.  It applied perfectly and the formula was just right - not too thick and not too thin.  Standard brush, nothing special. But this is shown without a topcoat! Price range $4 - $6 each.

Then it was time to get creative.  I pulled out China Glaze Trendsetter only to find out it was a HORRIBLE color on me - I expected a green polish and instead got a Dijon mustard color. That's the chance you take when ordering online.  I was in the mood for green, so I pulled out an empty bottle and created a green franken.  In honor of Bob Eberly's birthday last month being the same day as mine, July 24th, I'm naming it Green Eyes after the 1940s song. (Don't try to figure it out.  My best friend Cindy calls it "Sheila Logic" and she might just be the only one in the world who can decipher it.)


Green Eyes in the last sliver of indirect sunlight

Green Eyes in artificial lighting
Green Eyes
It's an olive green with gold shimmer and I love it!  Shown here before the topcoat.

That's all for now - have a great weekend!

Holo Heaven

I just can't seem to get enough holographic nail polishes lately.  Especially linear holos.  My lil heart just goes pitty pat when I see the rainbow glide across my nails as they move.  Yes, psychological help is probably in order...just not very likely.

I've already posted my favorite holo I own so far...Sally Hansen Magical Nail Makeup in Mystical Mandarin.  Boy THAT'S a mouthful.

Here it is again.

Sally Hansen Magical Nail Makeup in Mystical Mandarin

Sally Hansen Magical Nail Makeup in  Mystical Mandarin
So I'm making this week HOLO Week!  The nails are starting to grow back out and I decided to wear Nfu-Oh #62, which is the pink holo, for the last few days.  Pink's not my favorite color but holo makes everything okay.

Nfu-Oh #62 (pink holo)

Nfu-Oh #62 (pink holo)
Nfu-Oh goes on like a DREAM.  This time, I used the Nfu-Oh Aqua Base first.  I didn't really notice any difference in application with or without it, but adding the Seche Vite Top Coat made it like glass. Just perfection. It doesn't have the depth of color as the Sally Hansen Magical Nail Makeup, but it has one major thing going for it that SH doesn't.  It's still AVAILABLE!  eBay is the only place to find the SH one and it's a crap shoot as to whether it's still in good shape, not old and gloppy, more than half full, etc.

Tonight I decided to change to a blue holo - OPI Designer Series Sapphire - for the weekend.

OPI DS Sapphire

OPI DS Sapphire
The application is not as good as Nfu-Oh, and it's not quite as linear but all in all, it's a great polish. It did take 3 coats for me to feel like I got great coverage, but still okay.  The coats were light and it dries fast.

Clearly, I need to get more holos.


Friday, August 12, 2011

Drunk Painting?

Okay, so I'm not really drunk.  But I drink so infrequently, despite my propensity for talking a good game, that when I do have a shot (or two?) of vodka, I feel tipsy. Grey Goose, Bay-Bee!

Tipsy expands my "comfort zone."  Not necessarily a bad thing, since my comfort zone isn't that large to begin with. Unless we're talking nail polish. Recently, I've even polished my nails *shudder* BLUE!  I thought that was pushing the limit to the maximum.

I was wrong!  Put on your sunglasses!

Pure Ice Super Star
Pure Ice Super Star
Can white be considered NEON?

Any bets on how long this stays? *grin*

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Short Nails Days 5-12

Sort of.  They're starting to grow out enough that I don't feel totally odd with darker polishes.

Days 5 and 6

Clarins 225 "Mannequin Hands"
The tip wear was getting to me so day 7 I layered over Clarins 230, affectionately known in Nail Polish circles as Unicorn Pee because of its rarity.  Clarins discontinued it, making it instantly coveted. And really, Unicorn Pee does make everything better.  It's fabulous gold/red douchrome shimmer embedded in a translucent red polish.  Looks great over just about anything.


Clarins 230 aka Unicorn Pee layered over Clarins 225
Days 9 and 10

Nfu-Oh 64 - Again

Kleancolor Holo Pink
Day 11

Rescue Beauty Lounge Insouciant with Kleancolor Purple Holo as accent finger
Day 12

Borghese Mochaccino and Palermo Plum toothpick zigzag



The Kleancolors polished FINALLY arrived.  The "holos" are scattered holo shimmers and not the linear holo goodness that I prefer, but I like them.  Application was great and the brush design is acceptable.  The Nfu-Oh 64 is a great linear holo, which is why I keep going back to it.

I'm still awaiting the arrival of my Spectraflair so I can try a few linear holos on my own.  I only ordered 2 grams of it, but if it works out, I may have to start ordering it by the pound! =)  I'm beginning to wonder if it will ever get here.  It's been over 2 weeks and nothing takes THAT long to get to me.  Still hopeful, though.  But I have had things lost in the mail before.  We will see.